Fears of white supremacist plot after second murder

A Texas district attorney and his wife have been found dead in their home – the second murder of a US prosecutor in the same office in less than two months, sparking fears of a larger plot.

In January, Kaufman County assistant district attorney Mark Hasse, 57, reportedly investigating the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, was gunned down just outside a courthouse in a small Texan town.

On Saturday, the county's district attorney, Mike McLelland, and his wife, Cynthia Woodward McLelland, were found shot dead at their home.

After Mr Hasse's killing, Mr McLelland appeared alongside the county sheriff and the Kaufman police chief, vowing to find those responsible and referring to the suspect or suspects as "scum".

"I hope that the people that did this are watching, because we're very confident that we're going to find you, we're going to pull you out of whatever hole you're in, we're going to bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law," he told reporters.

A statewide bulletin in December said the Aryan Brotherhood – an organised crime syndicate – was "actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials", the Morning News said.

In November, a federal grand jury in Houston indicted more than 30 senior leaders and other members of the whites-only gang on racketeering charges. The indictments stemmed from an investigation led by a multi-agency task force that included Kaufman County prosecutors and officials from three other district attorney's offices.

It appears this was not a random act.

Forney mayor Darren Rozell

Authorities are also investigating whether Mr Hasse's shooting was linked to the killing of a Colorado prison chief on March 19.

The suspect in that shooting is Evan Spencer Ebel, 28, a white supremacist with a criminal history spanning a decade, who was shot and killed after a standoff with sheriff's deputies.

However, authorities have found no evidence tying Ebel to Mr Hasse's murder, the Dallas paper said.